Canlaon city: The Philippine Army in Negros Oriental is continuing its operations against the communist New People's Army (NPA) without let-up following two shooting incidents in Canlaon City, an official said Thursday.

According to Philippines News Agency, Brig. Gen. Jason Jumawan, the commander of the 302nd Infantry Brigade, stated they are working closely with the police to investigate the two incidents that may be related. Jumawan expressed concern that if the communist terrorist group (CTG) is responsible for the murders, it indicates ongoing intimidation of the public. He emphasized that counter-insurgency operations will persist without interruption.

Jumawan assessed that the NPA in Negros Oriental may have lost its "ideology" but has shifted to committing crimes such as intimidation and threats to extort money from the populace. Although all NPA guerrilla fronts in the province have been dismantled, the remnants still possess the ability to carry out crimes, he said.

The first incident occurred on September 23 when Jerome Calderon Caballes, 32, a former member of the Civilian Armed Forces Geographical Unit (CAFGU), was shot dead by unidentified assailants inside his house in Sitio Banban, Barangay Bucalan. A week later, on Tuesday, a 30-year-old resident of Sitio Nabuluan, Barangay Binalbagan, a former barangay tanod (village watchman) and Elite Rescue Team responder, was also shot dead while driving home.

Both Bucalan and Binalbagan are neighboring barangays identified by the police and military as ISO (internal security operations) zones, indicating that NPA presence is still noticeable in those areas.